Hello! Well, believe it or
not, it is that time of year again
where those of you involved in Children's Ministry begin to evaluate
VBS resources to select the material your church will use this coming
summer in your ministry to the children of your church and
community. I have just completed my yearly evaluation of VBS
resources and have to tell you, the Publishers did a truly tremendous
job this year of writing creative, Biblically sound VBS lessons that
will involve and reach kids! No matter what resource you
ultimately decide to use, you will not be disappointed!
This year will likely be one of the most challenging
years to select a
VBS curriculum - all of them are great choices! As you work to
select your VBS material, keep the following things in mind -
- Before you even look at curriculum, decide your VBS
goals.
Do you want a curriculum that focuses heavily on evangelism? A
number of this year's resources do that extremely well, while others
focus more on life change for kids who already know Christ.
Determining your goal will help you narrow down the VBS resources you
want to consider.
- What settings has your church used in recent years?
If you
used a Construction theme in the last year or so, you aren't likely to
want to repeat it again this year. Is your church a city
church? If so, you may want to look at settings that take your
kids to a Ranch or on a Road Trip across America. Do you know
what VBS other churches in your community are planning to
utilize? If you know most of the other churches are going for the
African Safari setting, you may want to try something different at your
church. Does your church have missionaries in Africa? You
may want to select one of the African Safari settings and plan your own
mission project to benefit your missionaries. Maybe you could get
them to film the area of Africa they serve in and then show clips
throughout your VBS for that personal touch.
- Don't automatically decide to use the same Publisher's
curriculum
you always use without first reading through the lessons, crafts, games
and snacks. Make sure the material you select will work for your
church and kids and give yourself a chance to take a look at something
new - you never can tell, you may find it is a perfect fit for your
ministry!
As always, I want to encourage you to select one VBS
resource for your
church's VBS ministry and then choose two or three other VBS resources
to buy the starter kit and look for ways to use them at your church in
the coming year. VBS is your best curriculum buy of the
year! In a starter kit you get solid, creatively written Bible
lessons for kids from preschool through upper elementary. You get
music, crafts, games and snack ideas as well - all for around $50 or
$60! If you have these resources, you can use them for Sundays in
the Summer or Mid-week club all year long. If your church has a
Sunday night children's ministry you will find VBS resources a great
tool for this time of ministry to kids. If your church has a
special prayer focus week, use one of the VBS resources that focus on
prayer. If your church has a special missions week, use one of
the VBS resources with a strong evangelistic focus or one of the
African setting VBS resources. If you have the curriculum, you
will find a place to use it. Also, plan to purchase each
company's music and craft resources to add to your Children's Ministry
resource room.
Once again, I'd like to encourage you to purchase
your VBS resources
from Kregel Bookstores. Kregel always can be depended on to
provide top quality service, savings and answers to your VBS
questions. You can email Hollie at mr@kregel.com for more
information on ordering from Kregel. Lifeway and Cokesbury's VBS
resources are not available through Kregel, but Kregel does carry the
other VBS resources.
I have VBS reviews for 11 VBS resources this year
along with our annual
VBS comparison chart. This year we are once again including
information on my "Top Picks" as well as a new review of quality,
affordable craft kit resources from Oriental Trading, S&S WorldWide
and Guild craft that will fit with specific VBS lessons. I hope
you find information that will help you as you prayerfully consider
what VBS resource will best fit your church's needs for the Summer of
2005! Feel free to email me with any questions you may have and
have a wonderful Summer, filled with effective ministry to the kids in
your church and community!
Augsburg - Davey &
Goliath's Circus Spectacular - High Flying Gospel Adventure
Charisma Life/Tyndale - K*10*C -
Kid's Ten Commandments
Cokesbury - Circle G Ranch -
Ranch House Kids . . . Adventure of the Open Door
Concordia - Safari Adventure -
Discover Jesus the King
Cook - Good News Clues - Searching for
New Life in Jesus
Gospel Light - Kingdom of the
Son - a Prayer Safari
Group - Holy Land Adventure -
Jerusalem Marketplace
Group - Serengeti Trek -
Where Kids are Wild about God
Lifeway - Ramblin' Road
Trip - Which Way Do I Go?
Regular Baptist Press - Jungle
Adventure - Discovering God's Love
Standard Publishing - Construction
Zone - Building Character like Jesus
Top Picks
Comparison Chart
Additional Craft Suppliers
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